Shift in Dynamic
by AoiGensou
Summary: Or,How Edgeworth Almost Let Phoenix slip through his fingers. After springing the news of a job offer in a different state on Edgeworth following a particularly irritating day in court, Phoenix is faced with a prosecutor who isn't ready to let him go.


"As you can see, your honor, Mr. Wright has let his imagination get the best of him once again." Edgeworth smirked confidently at the judge as Phoenix Wright, attorney-at-law sweated in embarrassment. He hated how Edgeworth always seemed to find the weakest point in any argument, and made it collapse on itself from the inside out – even though he did the same thing – and he hated that, a lot of the time, Edgeworth was right.

"Ah yes. Mr. Edgeworth does have a point, Mr. Wright. _Do_ you have any evidence to back up your claim?" The judge – as usual – was quick to take the prosecution's side, and Phoenix frantically shuffled through dozens of papers, reports and evidence looking for something – _anything _– to present. Sighing mentally when he came up short, he shook his head.

"Not at the moment, your honor." He attempted to make himself look more professional by calmly rearranging everything on the table, but inwardly he was cursing. Phoenix chanced a glance over at the prosecution's half of the courtroom, and instantly regretted it. The look on Edgeworth's face made him want to smack the so-called 'demon prosecutor'.

Most of all, Phoenix hated that smarmy know-it-all grin that appeared whenever Edgeworth was able to silence the lawyer.

"Well, seeing as the defense has cast reasonable doubt upon the guilt of the defendant, but the prosecution still has a strong case, I see nothing else to do but adjourn until tomorrow to give both parties enough time to investigate further." The judge slammed his gavel, and the spectators started filing out of the courtroom, gossiping among themselves with speculation about what the outcome would be.

Phoenix took his time gathering his things, sending Maya out of the courtroom ahead of him with some cash to find them something to eat and bring it to the office. They were going to have a long afternoon ahead of them. As he put his stack of papers into his briefcase, he happened to look up and see Edgeworth similarly taking his time in getting out of the courtroom.

It was easier to ignore the murmurs when he had something to focus on, and Edgeworth was as good as anything else he supposed. Anything to get him a few minutes of peace before going back to the case.

The prosecutor shut his own briefcase with an abrupt snap, and looked up, catching Phoenix staring at him. His eyebrow raised questioningly, giving his face a bemused, slightly humored look, and Phoenix turned his gaze away, flushing in embarrassment and irritation, looking back only when Edgeworth addressed him.

"Is there something you needed, Wright?"

Shaking his head, Phoenix averted his eyes once more. He was far too annoyed by Edgeworth to banter with him. The prosecutor must have understood the gesture, because he looked to the side.

"It isn't personal. It's just business." Edgeworth spoke softly, and Phoenix wanted to scoff.

"No. Even rivals in business treat each other with more respect in public." He turned and looked at Edgeworth long enough to frown at him. "I thought we were friends. Or at least I was trying to be." Latching his briefcase shut, Phoenix stood abruptly, not giving Edgeworth a chance to respond. "A firm in Seattle called me the other day. They want me to come join them." He smiled a little wryly. "I think maybe joining an established firm would be easier than trying to run my own. At least I would know where my next paycheck was coming from."

Phoenix laughed sheepishly, but stopped when he saw the expression on Edgeworth's face. He looked like he had been hit in the gut. For a moment he almost felt guilty for springing the news on the prosecutor without warning or preamble.

"I haven't taken it yet. I told them that I needed to think about it first."

By that time Edgeworth seemed to snap out of it. He put on his normal indifferent expression and waved his hand dismissively as he gathered his things.

"Do as you wish." The coldness of the words stung Phoenix more than his sarcasm during the trial had. Edgeworth brushed past him on the way out, and Phoenix belatedly realized that he was alone in the courtroom. He sighed and made his way out and to his office, with the feeling that Edgeworth wasn't going to pull any punches the next day.

"Not personal, huh?"

"Are you sure you went to law school, Wright? The things coming out of your mouth are not even worthy of a grade-schooler."

Phoenix was tired, his hand was sore from slamming it on his table, and now he had Edgeworth making snide remarks about his intelligence between some pretty intense stares. The remarks were usual Edgeworth fare, but the stares were definitely new; and Phoenix couldn't even read them, since every time the prosecutor noticed that he had been caught, his expression turned carefully neutral. It was driving Phoenix nuts.

"Indeed, Mr. Wright. Think more carefully before you make such wild accusations." The judge spoke sternly, and rapped his gavel, signaling for the gallery to quiet. "There still remain some questions, and I cannot clearly pass judgment yet until they have been answered. You gentlemen have one more day to get this straightened out." The judge looked at both prosecution and defense sternly, sounding for once as though he meant business instead of going with the flow of arguments. "Court will resume tomorrow at ten o'clock." Another bang and the noise returned full force.

Practically the entire contents of Phoenix's briefcase were spread messily across the defense's table, so he started to gather things up, not stopping to worry if the reports and photos of evidence and statements were even in the right order. It had been a stressful trial that day, and he just wanted out. Of course, the doors were crowded with the escaping spectators so he'd have had to wait until they cleared, but when that happened he'd be ready. He didn't, unfortunately, count on knocking over his briefcase and everything spilling out. Looking down at the mess, he frowned and knelt down to retrieve everything, crawling beneath the table to grab some stray pens and almost hitting his head on the underside.

"Hey Nick, I'm gonna go to the office ahead of you, 'kay? Pearly said she was gonna visit and I don't want her to have to come here, since your office is closer to the train station." Maya smiled down cheerfully at him, and Phoenix nodded wearily.

"Okay, I'll see you two there. I should be right behind you."

"Don't take too long!"

"I'll try."

Maya nodded and waved at him, catching up with the last of the crowd trickling out. The silence in her wake was louder than Phoenix expected, and since he didn't the slightest peep of anything. He assumed he was alone. That is, until his eyes wandered over to the prosecutor's table and he saw Edgeworth there, glowering at him.

At least, he thought it was a glower. Whatever it was, it was scary looking. The hand scooping his papers together stilled, and Phoenix locked eyes with the prosecutor for a moment, looking away awkwardly when it got too intense. Edgeworth didn't seem to want to talk, so Phoenix didn't bother saying anything to him. Instead, he did his best to ignore the piercing stares that were practically burning through him from clear across the room.

He had almost finished gathering his things when his cell phone rang, startling him enough for him to bump his head on the table. Cursing under his breath, Phoenix fumbled around, reaching into his pocket to silence the Steel Samurai ringtone cutting through the icy silence in the courtroom, standing up and brushing his knees off as he answered.

"Hello, Phoenix Wright… Ah yes sir. Yes. I'm still thinking about it. No, I agree, it's a very generous offer. What? Oh no, it's not that. It's just that I've lived here my whole life, and it's hard to pack up and move like that. …What? Moving expenses? I couldn't. But… I see. Yes, I'll get back to you with my decision soon. Thank you. Goodbye." Phoenix pushed a button, sighing as he looked at the display of his phone. He didn't sound too happy, although he was flattered by the offer. He really _was_ considering it, but he wasn't sure it was what he wanted. And unfortunately, he wasn't very good at saying 'no'.

As Phoenix bent over to pick up his briefcase and shut it, he didn't notice Edgeworth passing by, on his way out. His steps paused as he crossed Phoenix's path, and when the lawyer straightened up, he started when he saw the prosecutor looming over him. They stared for a long, drawn-out moment, neither of them breaking eye contact or seeming to know what to do. Edgeworth eventually broke the silence, dropping his attaché, walking around the defense table and pushing Phoenix against the wall behind them – the wall that designated the gallery section of the courtroom. His head hit the wall, and he would have cushioned it with one of his hands, but he was too busy being shocked at the fact that Edgeworth actually shoved him. He honestly couldn't believe that this was happening. He didn't know if Edgeworth was going to hit him or what, but all he could do was stare in astonishment. Phoenix let out a startled noise and his hands flew up to Edgeworth's shoulders to push him away, but the other man was determined. He kept him pinned against the wall roughly, staring down at him angrily.

"Do you even listen to yourself?!" Edgworth's face was so close to Phoenix's that the spiky-haired lawyer almost felt like he was suffocating. The anger didn't faze him as much as the physical proximity did. He was used to Edgeworth having a caustic temper at times, but he wasn't exactly a touchy-feely kind of guy.

"What?" He was confused, his mind wasn't working as fast as it should have and all he could really focus on was the fact that Edgeworth's leg was pressing against his, a thought that made him blush slightly. It was wholly inappropriate to the situation, but he couldn't help himself.

"Do you always let people walk all over you like that? You sound as though you don't want to leave, and yet you're considering it because someone else asked you to. Not to mention that it's throwing you off your game. I haven't heard you sound this inane in court since you first began." Edgeworth's words came fast, and each one was designed to strike a blow at Phoenix, which is exactly what it did. Edgeworth's words rarely missed their mark, and it was no exception then.

"I'm not letting anyone walk over me, Edgeworth. It's a good offer! More money than I've ever seen in my life! A new car! They're even offering to help me move there!" Phoenix tried to push Edgeworth away once more, but the attempt wasn't nearly strong enough to even budge the furious prosecutor.

"Oh, so it's all about the money now, is it? Whatever happened to helping the wrongly accused? To finding the truth?" The prosecutor's eyes were narrowed as he spoke, voice lowered and more worrying than even the few times Phoenix had seen him come close to angry.

"Those are still important to me!" Phoenix struggled against Edgeworth in vain. "I can still do that elsewhere. Besides, I have to_ eat_."

Edgeworth paused, staring at Phoenix long and hard, and he looked back almost defiantly.

"Shut up, Wright. How can you find the truth without me?" Edgeworth didn't hesitate after that, or give him an opportunity to express anything beyond the surprise shown by raising his eyebrows. He pressed himself against the clueless defense attorney and crushed their lips together, kissing him roughly. Phoenix flailed, shocked beyond imagination, until he froze, realizing something surprising.

He had been waiting for something like this to happen.

Closing his eyes, Phoenix stopped fighting the kiss, and stopped fighting the prosecutor. He began moving his lips against Edgeworth's, and his hands which had been pushing at Edgeworth's shoulders, trying to shove him away, slid around his neck instead, loosely pulling them into an embrace. Edgeworth pulled back from the kiss, and stared fiercely at Phoenix, who held his breath, expecting more harsh words.

"You are such an idiot, Wright. For someone who's so 'brilliant', you're slow to pick up on the most obvious observations."

"Huh? Obvious what? What are you talking about?" His brain not exactly being in his head at the moment, Phoenix blinked in confusion. This wasn't exactly what he was anticipating when he got out of bed this morning.

"I've wanted to devour you for ages, but you've been too blind to see. And then you tried to leave." Rolling his eyes and jerking open the top three buttons of Phoenix's shirt in one fluid movement after moving his tie over his shoulder and out of the way, Edgeworth ran a thumb gently over his collarbone; surprisingly so after the harsh words and the angry glares. "I came to the conclusion that you're either trying to make me angry enough to do something about this, or you're just incredibly dense. After hearing that conversation just now, I'm more than certain it's the latter."

Phoenix didn't know what to say to Edgeworth. He was having a hard time wrapping his mind around the fact that they had just kissed, proving the prosecutor's point nicely, though Edgeworth didn't know it. At receiving no response from the clueless lawyer, Edgeworth simply shook his head and smirked darkly.

"No protest from the defense? Then perhaps you won't mind if I went ahead and did this…." Giving him every opportunity to say 'no', Edgeworth slowly moved a hand to Phoenix's waist, slipping it beneath his suit jacket and untucking his shirt with several tugs, leaving the shirttail hanging out and Phoenix looking rather disheveled.

Not even thinking to stop him, the lawyer held him tighter, curious to see where this was going to go and not worried in the least about anything. If Edgeworth cared enough about him to get angry over him leaving, then there was really no question about whether or not he wanted him to stop. He just hadn't realized before then that it was what he wanted as well.

Edgeworth's hands crept toward Phoenix's belt slowly and in a quick, fumbling movement it was hanging to the sides of the lawyer's fly, which had been lowered in the process. Phoenix couldn't tell when, and that was kind of disconcerting. He wasn't able to dwell on it, though, since the prosecutor's hand slipped into his trousers and reached around teasingly until he located his cock which was, to Phoenix's embarrassment, already half hard.

"Eager, Wright?" Edgeworth's smirk made the lawyer turn pink. He didn't push him away, though.

"Shut up, Edgeworth," he mumbled, sounding mortified. The prosecutor didn't mind, however, and instead of teasing him further he wrapped his fingers around the warm flesh and stroked it several times.

Blinking quickly and biting back an embarrassing noise, Phoenix rested his forehead on the prosecutor's shoulder, sliding one of his hands around to unbutton Edgeworth's vest, then his shirt. He didn't bother with the cravat since he didn't know how the prosecutor put it _on_ let alone how to take it off. If he was going to be taken advantage of, he was sure as hell going to have some fun himself. It was a slow process using just one hand, but eventually Edgeworth's shirt was opened and a strip of his chest was exposed down to his navel. Phoenix smiled as he touched it, feeling a slight trembling of muscles and the quickened flutter of a heartbeat.

As Phoenix touched him, Edgeworth stilled for a moment, his hand resting on the defense attorney's cock while he closed his eyes a savored the contact. It had been a long time since he'd allowed such intimate contact between himself and another person and it felt nice. He couldn't just let the spiky-haired man have all the fun, though, and soon resumed his movements, throwing Phoenix off and making him gasp.

With a gasp that turned into a low moan, Phoenix leaned his head back against the gallery wall and slipped a knee between Edgeworth's legs and bumped it against his own growing arousal, teasing the prosecutor with a slight smile. Unable to resist the way the lawyer looked at that moment, Edgeworth leaned forward and kissed him again, speeding up the pumping of his hand on Phoenix's cock, causing him to push his hips forward. They opened their mouths to the kiss, tentatively exploring each other with their tongues, breaking apart only when they couldn't catch their breath.

Edgeworth was pushing himself against Phoenix's leg as he jerked him off quickly, his cheeks red with arousal. They panted against each other's ears, the rush of warm breath making Phoenix shiver and his knees go weak. At that point, the only thing keeping the lawyer from sliding to the floor was the weight of Edgeworth holding him up.

"E-edgeworth. I…" trailing off, Phoenix shook his head, not able to get the words out between shivers and pants.

"Shh. I know." Edgeworth sounded so assured of himself that Phoenix didn't think to question what he thought he knew. He simply made a strangled noise of pleasure and buried his face in Edgeworth's neck as he came hot and sticky into the prosecutor's hand. It didn't take long for Edgeworth to follow suit, Phoenix could feel by the way he froze as he pushed himself vigorously against his leg when he had reached his peak, and it made him smile. It wasn't an ideal first sexual encounter, but at least it was memorable.

They stood there catching their breath, waiting for either to interrupt the silence that had fallen over them in absence of the frenzied pants and fevered moans that had prevailed minutes earlier. Phoenix was about to say something, when for the second time that afternoon the silence was broken by the theme song of the Steel Samurai. The vibration to the beat wasn't helping anything in his sensitive state, and so he fished it out of his pocket and looked at it.

And blinked. He hadn't expected the Seattle firm to call him twice in one day. They must have been desperate, and he didn't know why.

Under normal circumstances he wouldn't have hesitated in answering his phone, but now he looked at Edgeworth as though wanting to gain his approval before pressing the button and lifting the phone to his ear.

"Hello, Phoenix Wri—ah, yes. I wasn't expecting you to call back so soon. Oh. I see. Yes, well about that. I don't think I need to think about it any more. Yes, I've decided." Nodding as he spoke, Phoenix sounded much less unenthusiastic than he had on the first call, and Edgeworth raised his eyebrows, leaning close to kiss the lawyer's neck as if to sway his decision. "Thank you for the offer, but I'm afraid I have to decline. No, nothing will change my mind. I'm sorry too. Thank you."

The phone was placed back in his pocket, and he smiled a little, not able to see that Edgeworth mirrored the expression.

"So… that's that then," Phoenix said softly after a short silence. Edgeworth lifted his head to look at him with an unreadable expression.

"Indeed."

"It's over. I'm back to not knowing whether or not I'll be able to eat this month again." The lawyer sighed, but he didn't look unhappy about it. He couldn't believe that he had turned down such a good offer in favor of staying with his current situation. However, there was one thing that he simply wasn't able to give up yet.

"Wright, I'm capable of cooking. If you ever find yourself starving… I might be willing to part with a meal or two here and there." The offer sounded awkward and tentative and completely endearing to Phoenix, who smiled at him sheepishly.

"You really like me, don't you?"

"No, I go around molesting all the lawyers who cross my path." Rolling his eyes, Edgeworth moved away from Phoenix, staring down at his hand in mild disgust. Following his gaze, the lawyer blushed.

"I tried to warn—"

"I know. I didn't care. I still don't, but I don't exactly have anything to clean up with handy. Not to mention I need a change of clothing." Reaching toward Phoenix, Edgeworth grabbed the dangling shirttail and wiped his hand on it until it was passably clean. "I need to visit the washroom."

"H-hey! Don't!" Phoenix tried to move back, but there was nothing but a wall behind him. Edgeworth gave him a look that said 'hold still.'

"Stop whining, Wright. You can change."

"That's true, but…"

"No buts. Come on, we still have work to do." Edgeworth tucked the lawyer's shirt back in for him, and zipped his trousers up before attending to his own appearance. Phoenix reluctantly followed suit.

"So what does this—" As the prosecutor picked up the attaché he had dropped when he accosted Phoenix, he shook his head to silence the lawyer.

"Come over to my place tonight. We can talk then." He straightened up and glanced over at him, not voicing what he was thinking – 'maybe more.'

A slow smile spread over Phoenix's face. Edgeworth didn't have to say it, he already knew.


End file.
